I love card making, scrapbooking and paper crafting. I will post card ideas, scrapbooking pages and tips a few times a week. Check in often so that you won't miss anything but don't plan on seeing something new here every day!

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Judy's List of What to Pack in a Shoebox

You can find lists for shoeboxes in lots of places so this is just one more. This is also my opinion of what you should pack in a shoebox, Some people may disagree with me and that's ok. The following lists are what I have found in packing shoeboxes for 15 years and in working as a year round volunteer for the past 4 years.

You can pack shoeboxes for a boy or a girl in these age groups:
2-4 years old;
5-9 years old;
10-14 years old.
Yes, it is true that more people pack boxes for girls than boys and more pack for the 5-9 age group than the others. You can pack for whomever you feel God is leading you to pack for.

This girl is carrying her box and boxes for her siblings.

I feel there are 6 groups or types of items that should go in every shoebox. Those are
school supplies,
hygiene items,
candy.
toys,
clothes, and
other or misc.
I think that it is good to have something from every category in your shoebox. I do this with mine.School supplies
In many countries, you can not attend school if you do not have your own school supplies.
Composition or spiral notebooks
pencils, sharpeners, erasers
crayons
glue sticks
markers
solar calculators for older children
color books for younger childrenHygiene items
Many children in poor countries do NOT have these basic items or they share one with the entire family.
toothbrush
tooth paste
soap
washcloth
comb and/or brushCandy
Hard candy
Smarties
Suckers
Tootsie rolls (no chocolate. Tootsie rolls are not chocolate.)
Tootsie pops
GumToys
Jump ropes
Cars
Balls (kids everywhere love balls)
Stuffed animal (something to cuddle)
Dolls
Slinky
Yo-yo
Whistles/noise makers
Balloons
Play doh?? This is something to think about. Often children do not know what play doh is. I had one little girl who wanted to eat it. I was trying to show her how to form it into an animal and she kept opening her mouth. Play doh is non-toxic so it won't hurt them if they do eat it but it won't taste good either. It is also great to work on imagination. I will let you be the judge on whether to pack it or not.Clothes
If you pay attention to the sizes and pack according to the age range that are listed, you can come pretty close to items that will fit.
t-shirts
caps/hats/stocking caps
socks
flip flops
shorts
skirts
underwear (age appropriate, please)
NO CAMO of any color...Even pink camo could be used to identify terrorist groups and we don't want the children to be mistaken for that.Other items
hair ribbons, bows, barrettes, clips, etc
Older boys
hammer
tape measure
screw driver
bungee cords
fishing kits
Older girls
sewing kits
clothes line & pins
1 or 2 yards of fabric

Check back in a few days for dos and don'ts and for how to not break the bank.

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This is me!

I taught elementary school for 24 yrs and now love being retired. My dh& I have been married for 49 yrs and I have loved about 95% of it. Ihave 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren and another coming in September who are the best looking, smartest, &best people in the world! I am active in my church & am the area coordinator (year round volunteer) with the Mid-Texas Operation Christmas Child team. I am passionate about building the shoeboxes for children all around the world. For more information on Operation Christmas Child check it out here . Mid-Texas area OCC covers 6 counties in Central Texas. If you are in the Central Texas area and want to learn more about Operation Christmas Child, feel free to contact me. We would love to send some of our team members to speak at your church or community group to encourage you to participate. Each shoebox that is filled is not only a gift for a poor child but also the opportunity for a volunteer to tell the child how Jesus Christ loves them and died for them. View my completeprofile

Paper Piecing Patterns

I've added several paper piecing patterns to my patterns page that I haven't shown on a post here. Click on the patterns to see what all I have. I will be adding more as I have time.